Nipomo, 5 Cities, or SLO - - Best Place for Kids (San Diego: best city, apartments)

[movingfromsandiego]

My wife and I live in San Diego. We would like to live in a smaller town. We love the Nipomo, 5 Cities, and SLO areas. Some questions for those who know:

1. Which is the best city to raise children in? We want a city that has community events and where families actually interact with each other. In San Diego, everybody is too busy for one another.

2. Which city has the best weather?

3. Will we suffer culture shock by moving from a big city to one of these smaller towns?

4. What are the housing prices like?

Any other thoughts and insights would be greatly appreciated.

[mono#9]

This is mostly second hand info--I don't live there--yet:

best weather--all are along the coast which means the closer to the shore, the cooler and foggier, the further back into the hills, the warmer. Pismo is cooler than the east side of Arroyo Grande and SLO which are warmer.
housing prices--low to high--Oceano, Grover Beach, Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, Pismo, SLO

I've been told to stay away from Grover Beach and Oceano, but I'm not sure why

Nipomo is more horsy, has acre lots and golf courses with newer, denser packed housing.

Pismo is a touristy beach town with great views from the hills and prices to match

Arroyo Grande is middle class family oriented-also has Cypress Ridge Golf Course with nice housing, some on a man-made lake

SLO is a college town full of young people, retired people, great community feel and activities.

You might also look at Morro Bay--really nice town--you can walk to the central areas from almost any of the housing on the ocean side of the freeway. Los Osos too.

[the city]

Pismo beach, Grover Beach, arroyo grande, oceano, and avila beach r white surfer towns. they r pricey, especially pismo beach. grover and oceano get bad over-cast sometimes, but the five cities area is great for families.

nipomo is horrible, there is a poor and rich clash going on. there is also a bad gang there called nipas 13 that gets in fights with the santa maria gang.

san luis obispo is really good because it's a college town and there is a lot to see and do. good weather there, and very open-minded city people. also, there is some diversity. although the city is mostly white, there is a good amount of hispanics that work there and a good amount of asians that live there.

i would say SLO is your best bet.

[Dean Trails]

Originally Posted by the city

Pismo beach, Grover Beach, arroyo grande, oceano, and avila beach r white surfer towns. they r pricey, especially pismo beach. grover and oceano get bad over-cast sometimes, but the five cities area is great for families.

nipomo is horrible, there is a poor and rich clash going on. there is also a bad gang there called nipas 13 that gets in fights with the santa maria gang.

san luis obispo is really good because it's a college town and there is a lot to see and do. good weather there, and very open-minded city people. also, there is some diversity. although the city is mostly white, there is a good amount of hispanics that work there and a good amount of asians that live there.

i would say SLO is your best bet.

I am always surprised in this 21st centrury we still haven't gotten beyond categorizing places as that is a "white", "hispanic", "black", "green" or "whatever" town. Quite a few posters bring up the prevalence of "gangs" and how they infest each and every city.

Are these responses made to keep folks out of an area?

I have visited the cities listed above and they all seem very nice to me with regards to climate, people and family. I am not sure what benefit we get with diversity as if each town has to have the exact percentages of ethnic amounts to come up with a perfect little town that will please everyone! I wonder if the Federal government has those statistical guidelines we can all follow to be healthy and happy? I am sure some government bureaucrat is feverishly working on that now as we speak.

Anyway my rant digresses.......

After reading all the comments on this forum with regards to the central coast area for the last several months. It is my opinion.........ta ta daaa
(Bad attempt at trumpets)

That the whole area is a pretty darn nice place to live!

my 2 cents......

[movingfromsandiego]

A few more questions:

1. Has anybody moved to these areas from a big city? How did you like the switch?

2. I am interested in racial diversity (I'm white, wife is Mexican). I'm not trying to be PC, either. Having said that, is there any racial problems in these towns? I'm not talking about overt racism (like in Mississippi), as I know that's not present. Just wanted to know if there's any subtle racism that might be noticeable.

3. Anybody out there with small kids who can let me know which town has the best community events for kids? What I'm trying to find is a city where people with kids interact. In San Diego, it's rare.

4. Re: Nipomo's gang problem. Is this a real problem that threatens the safety of you if you live in the town. I realize that most cities have gangs. Is this situation actutely more dangerous?

[Dean Trails]

Originally Posted by movingfromsandiego

A few more questions:

1. Has anybody moved to these areas from a big city? How did you like the switch?

2. I am interested in racial diversity (I'm white, wife is Mexican). I'm not trying to be PC, either. Having said that, is there any racial problems in these towns? I'm not talking about overt racism (like in Mississippi), as I know that's not present. Just wanted to know if there's any subtle racism that might be noticeable.

3. Anybody out there with small kids who can let me know which town has the best community events for kids? What I'm trying to find is a city where people with kids interact. In San Diego, it's rare.

4. Re: Nipomo's gang problem. Is this a real problem that threatens the safety of you if you live in the town. I realize that most cities have gangs. Is this situation actutely more dangerous?

I have been researching the central coast myself as I am from the SF Bay area and want to get away from the congestion, people and traffic.
So far the SLO County seems like heaven on earth.

In my opinion......

It will be a a big change as the pace is slower.
You won't have as many amenities such as shopping and restaurants.
I don't think you will have racial problems. Actually, i am surprise at this question as this is California and like you said not Mississippi!
SLO is a very vibrant city and I think kids will have a good time there.
And, I don't think the gangs, even in Santa Maria are anywhere like the ones we see in San Diego or San Francisco.

Saying all of that, the positives are very overwhelming.
Check out all the discussions on this forum with regards to the Central Coast and I think you will see that many folks are really in love with this place.
And.....the one biggy there is the beaches that most places don't have.
You can fish, boat, surf, tan etc. etc...

Let me know how it goes as we may soon be neighbors!

[CA central coast]

I'd recommend Paso Robles/Templeton/Atascadero if the community aspect is the most important. There nice places to raise kids.

[3FC]

Opps don't know what happened to my first message, I hope it doesn't show up later.. anyway.

1. SLO is probably the best bet for kids, followed very closely by the 5 Cities. If you are looking for lots of activities and such, Nipomo is much smaller and doesn't offer much for kids, or activities for the family. It is improving though.

2. Depends on your definition of the best weather.. Nipomo is warmer and drier, San Luis is also warm, the 5 Cities get the breeze and sometimes fog from the beach.. Arroyo Grande is the warmest. It's not unusual to find it a bit cool or even completely foggy in the 5 Cities, and when you pass the Avila Beach exit on the freeway into San Luis you will see it completely clear up. Same as traveling south to Nipomo. They all have great weather though.

3. I'm sure you will experience a little bit of shock.. San Luis is the biggest area around here and has more of a big town feel. Nipomo is a small town on it's own, and it would be the biggest culture shock. Lots of open space, not much shopping other than necessities, most people will make trips into the 5 Cities or Santa Maria for activities or shopping.

4. I can't add much to the housing prices as I rent..

Actually the biggest gangs in Santa Maria are coming from Southern California. In the past few years they have really moved up here and expanded. Luckily they are mostly staying in SM. But I would say they are just as bad as gangs down there, although less of them. Nipomo's gang is practically non-existent at this point. I notice the poster who mentioned them forgot to mention that Oceano has a gang as well (also not much left of them at this point) who at one time was Nipomo's biggest rival. Neither are worth worrying about. You occasionally hear about something in the news that involved a suspected gang member, but it's not any more than what you hear about individuals causing problems anyway. I grew up in this area and never ran into either, as a gang. Kids walk around Nipomo all the time, it's perfectly safe, although there isn't much for them to do.

Nipomo is not horrible. As for the poor and rich clash? It's no different than the 5 Cities or SLO. The only difference may be that because Nipomo is smaller, and more open areas, the different housing is more noticible.. some large houses with half acre or more lots, and other areas with packed in houses, apartments/condos, and mobile homes.

[Axxlrod]

Haha. I'm moving from Nipomo to San Diego in a few months. I've lived my whole life here on the central coast; raised in santa maria, now live in nipomo. My wife and I are leaving because we don't like it here. Its boring and too cold for us. There aren't many restaurants or decent shopping and its a pain to travel out of town since you have to drive to either the LA or Bay area airports if you want to fly somewhere. Yes, you can fly out of SLO or SM, but it is expensive and then you have to connect.

Where you should live depends on your budget really. SM is the cheapest but IMO, its a crap town; like a large strip mall. The gangs are there, but they are on the north side of town. SM is known as the "Fresno of the coast", if that tells you anything. Arroyo Grande and SLO are the most family family friendly cities in the south county. But they are pricey. The price of housing in SD is actually a little cheaper than the central coast, with the exception of SM.

[mmouwse]

Originally Posted by the city

Pismo beach, Grover Beach, arroyo grande, oceano, and avila beach r white surfer towns. they r pricey, especially pismo beach. grover and oceano get bad over-cast sometimes, but the five cities area is great for families.

nipomo is horrible, there is a poor and rich clash going on. there is also a bad gang there called nipas 13 that gets in fights with the santa maria gang.

san luis obispo is really good because it's a college town and there is a lot to see and do. good weather there, and very open-minded city people. also, there is some diversity. although the city is mostly white, there is a good amount of hispanics that work there and a good amount of asians that live there.

i would say SLO is your best bet.

YOu know, you surely do shock me. For a kid that grew up here (and is still in HS) you sure do not seem to have a clue!